A few weeks ago I received an invitation to attend a party celebrating the work of some local volunteers, which I was all too willing to accept. The guests of honor at yesterday’s party were very special and quite hairy.

They included a Great Pyrenees named Wotan,

a beautiful whippet named Zoe,

two long-haired dachshunds named Pippin and Max,

a very laid-back black lab named Jibar,

an Akita mix named Shilo,

two English Setters named Paloma and Spencer,

an adorable rescued terrier mix named Sam,

a Bouvier named Willow,

a greyhound named Freddie, whose mom obviously loves him,

and a Shih Tzu named Bear.

All are volunteers with the pet therapy program at one of our local hospitals and provide the most important medicine possible… love. Knock on wood that I never have to be hospitalized, but if I do, I’d like to put my request in now for each and every one of them to stop by and visit.

I found myself tearing up at times while there (as I tend to do when around animals) because those dogs are just so special. I couldn’t agree with you more about including stories like this in the news! I know I always feel better when I’m with my four-legged children.

I’m glad to say both my daughter and her ‘lil preemie are doing well. My dog’s name is Bossman and he truly lives up to it. He’s supposed to be a Lhasa Apso but he’s larger than most. He weighs 23 lbs. We used to breed chow chow’s. Those were the smartest dogs we ever had.

Thanks for sharing. It brought back great memories of me and my mini schnauzer, Sahara doing pet therapy at a nursing home with a friend and her yellow lab, Riba. It was wonderful to see the residents faces light up when the dogs arrived. Even normally unresponsive residents would want to pet them.

When my mom was hospitalized the nurses helped smuggle Sahara in to see her because the hospital didn’t have a program but the nurses knew that it would cheer my mom.

Those are some special dogs (and people) I’ve read of the wonders that they do for so many people. Especially the elderly. For instance, I read a posting on the Pyr list today about how a fella took his Pyr to a nursing home and one of the ladies asked if she could walk him and that the dog just went along for her as easily as possible and the staff reported that she was on cloud nine the rest of the day. That is something. One of our LGD’s a big ol’ Pyr/Akbash cross, he’s huge, but as gentle as a lamb with people, especially kids. Thanks for sharing those marvelous pics. Ken and Mary of Fancy Fibers Farm, Texas